Basal cell carcinoma and risk of subsequent malignancies: A cancer registry-based study in southwest England.

Background: A possible link between basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and an increased subsequent risk of experiencing further noncutaneous malignancies has been suggested in previous cancer-registry and cohort studies.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to establish whether a possible link between BCC and subsequent malignancies could be confirmed in a new population in which environmental and genetic risk factors may vary from previously studied populations.

Methods: A cohort of 13,961 cancer registry-listed persons from the southwest of England, in whom BCC had been diagnosed during the period of 1981 to 1988, was examined for the relative risk of experiencing various further malignancies.

Results: An approximately 3-fold increase in the risk for malignant melanoma was demonstrated. No other cancers occurred in statistically significant excess.

Conclusion: The previous reported associations of BCC onset with subsequent increased risk for various noncutaneous cancers are not supported by this study.